Former Seton Hall star Adrian Griffin has spoken with school officials about head coaching vacancy

Star-Ledger File PhotoFormer Seton Hall star Adrian Griffin has expressed interest in the opening for the Pirates' head coaching job.
Throw one more hat into the ring for the Seton Hall coaching search: former Pirates star Adrian Griffin.

Griffin, now an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks, has spoken to his alma mater about the head coaching vacancy.

"I've had talks with them," Griffin told The Star-Ledger Wednesday afternoon when reached on his cell phone. "It's my alma mater. I have a great respect for Seton Hall and the whole school. It sparks interest."

In his second year as an assistant on the Bucks' staff, Griffin felt the pull to come back and help his former program in light of everything that's happened since coach Bobby Gonzalez was fired last week.

"I've always had a good relationship with them in the past," Griffin said. "I had no idea about Bobby Gonzalez being relieved of his duties until after the fact and after I found out, I just called and got a feel for what was going on. I let them know that I would be interested in that position."

While Griffin said that he hasn't had an official interview with Seton Hall, he did expect to meet with school officials later this week. Seton Hall is currently in the process of examining a number of potential candidates, including Siena's Fran McCaffery, Robert Morris' Mike Rice, Vermont's Mike Lonergan and Richmond's Chris Mooney.

Seton Hall Law Dean Patrick Hobbs — who has been overseeing the athletic department since July — told The Star-Ledger Tuesday that neither he or athletic director Joe Quinlan have any official on-campus interviews scheduled.

An NBA veteran for 10 seasons with six teams, Griffin was a member of the Pirates' last Big East Tournament championship team in 1993. The Kansas native averaged 16.2 points and 8.3 rebounds in his senior season for Seton Hall.

"We're still in the talking stage," Griffin said. "I know they're conducting other interviews with more well-deserved coaches. But I just thought it would be a great opportunity to go back home, represent my school and I said, 'Why not go for it?'"